A molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) is constructed by interposing an electrolyte (carbonate) between a fuel electrode (anode), for example, of a nickel porous body and an air electrode (cathode), for example, of a nickel oxide porous body. The anode is supplied with hydrogen (H2), which has been obtained from fuel such as a natural gas, and the cathode is supplied with air (O2) and carbon dioxide (CO2), whereupon power generation is performed by the electrochemical reaction of H2 and O2. MCFC is characterized in that since it operates at a high temperature, it has a high efficiency, and since it can recover and separate CO2, its influence on the environment is minimal. In recent years, therefore, MCFC has attracted attention as a power generation system succeeding hydraulic power, thermal power, and nuclear power generation systems.
Since MCFC operates at a high temperature, moreover, a proposal has so far been made for combined power generation equipment combining the MCFC and a gas turbine, with exhaust being supplied to a combustor of the gas turbine (see, for example, Patent Document 1). By so constructing the combined power generation equipment from a combination of the MCFC and the gas turbine, power generation can be performed by the MCFC and the gas turbine.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1999-135139